My mom makes a mean pasta salad. Her mayo-less version is a mostly traditional Italian pasta salad which marinates in an Italian salad dressing for a few hours before enjoying.
This Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad version is based on hers, but I decided to make it all the more summery but adding grill-friendly vegetables.
This is mostly a make ahead recipe. Right before serving (or while grilling up the main dish), you just add the veggies to the grill, then toss into the pasta.
Note: This post for Meatballs in Tomato Sauce is sponsored by Moyer Beef. All opinions are mine alone.
Sunday night in my house is pasta night, which almost always means pasta with a meaty tomato sauce. I tend to make Meatballs in Tomato Sauce in batches about once a month and freeze it for future Sundays.
It’s funny, I make this Meatballs in Tomato Sauce recipe all the time and yet
I had no clue what measurements I was putting into my sauce, and
never posted the recipe to my blog!
Continuing my partnership with Moyer Beef, I decided it was about darn time I actually figured out what exactly I make every month and to share it on here.
These meatballs are half ground beef and half hot Italian sausage. It adds a touch of heat to the overall sauce without being actually spicy.
Ingredients:
Meatballs:
1 lb 80% lean ground beef (I used Moyer Beef’s 81% lean ground beef chuck)
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GetGrillingAmerica #CollectiveBias
Can you believe it is almost Memorial Day? Since the first relatively nice day we had this spring, I’ve been dreaming of warm weather and outdoor grilling; I cannot wait to kick off the unofficial start of summer with a true backyard barbecue! To break in my grill for the season, what better choice than to get some ribs on the grill?
I have a few recipes on my blog for Slow Cooker Ribs, dripping in yummy homemade barbecue sauce. But when it comes to ribs on the grill, I like mine smoky and seasoned with a flavorful dry rub, like this recipe for Memphis Style Grilled Ribs. Grilling ribs takes some time but is a pretty simple process. Cooking them low and slow results in a wonderfully tender meat that is nice and juicy on the inside, with a beautiful crust on the outside.
I picked up a rack of Smithfield Fresh Pork Back Ribs from Walmart, as well as some charcoal, and hickory wood chips. Smithfield Fresh Pork ribs are hand-trimmed and have no added hormones or steroids. They are extra tender and juicy, making them perfect for grilling.
(As a said above, smoky ribs are a favorite of mine!) I love love love the flavor that charcoal imparts on grilled food.
Adding some chips on top of the charcoal adds another level of smoky flavor to the ribs.
My slow cooker gets such a workout this time of year. But I’m not willing to fully give up “summer” foods just yet. I had a craving for baked beans recently, so I decided to make a batch in my slow cooker and serve it with a cheeseburger and cornbread. Yum. This recipe is a “Boston Baked Beans” recipe, meaning it uses molasses in the recipe.
This recipe uses bacon that was sent to me by ButcherBox, a company that delivers 100% grass-fed beef and other protein to your door. The company partners with a collective of small farms to deliver high quality products at an affordable price.
Butcher Box is a subscription service, so the boxes are mailed monthly.
The boxes come with 7-10 pounds of meat (20+ servings). There are a bunch of options: All Beef, Beef & Chicken, Beef & Pork, or Mixed (Beef, Chicken & Pork, which is what I received).
The Mixed box includes 100% grass-fed beef, organic chicken, and all-natural pork. Most of the meat comes frozen (the bacon was not), so you can stick it right in your freezer and eat when convenient for you. I’ll have future recipes using the rest of the ingredients in the box, but for now, they are in my freezer.
This recipe also includes the best way to make bacon, in my humble opinion. Making bacon in the oven allows you to make quite a bit at a time, and the bacon doesn’t shrink up as much as it cooks. On to the recipe!
Ingredients:
1 pound dry navy beans, soaked in water overnight
10 oz bacon, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KingOfFlavor #CollectiveBias
The countdown to the football season is almost over! As a Philadelphian, I am very much in Eagles territory, where Sunday (and Monday night) schedules revolve around the birds. A huge part of watching the game (at least for me) is obviously the food!
One of my favorite game day foods is a rack of ribs. I don’t have a grill, so my go-to method to get fall-off-the-bone ribs is to use my slow cooker.
The best ribs have a little bit of heat to them, don’t you think? This recipe brings both some heat and smokiness with the use of two El Yucateco hot sauces: Red Habanero Hot Sauce and Black Label Reserve Hot Sauce.
I actually picked up three of El Yucateco’s hot sauces at Walmart (you can never have too much hot sauce on hand!) I found them in the Hispanic Food Section.
El Yucateco Red Habanero Hot Sauce is a combination of red habanero peppers, tomato, spices and seasonings. What sets El Yucateco apart from other hot sauces is that it has less vinegar, so the flavor (and kick!) of the pepper comes through more. The red habanero sauce is a great pantry hot sauce and is a great addition to everything from a Bloody Mary to wings. The tomato flavor in the red habanero hot sauce also makes it a great addition to a barbecue sauce!
El Yucateco’s Black Label Reserve Hot Sauce is made from fire roasted habaneros and has an awesome smoky flavor without being overpowering. This hot sauce works great with red meat, chili, and even chocolate! The Black Label Reserve Hot Sauce adds the smoky flavor of barbecued ribs to my slow cooker version!
El Yucateco also has a Green Habanero Hot Sauce, which is a combination of green habanero peppers, garlic, spices and seasonings. This hot sauce is perfect with lighter foods — chicken, seafood, veggies, etc.
I’ve included two methods of cooking these ribs, based on if you’re watching a day or night game. I’m not going to lie, the results are best when you can cook the ribs at a lower temperature for a longer time, but are really delicious both ways!
Ingredients:
3 lbs baby back ribs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
2 cups ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons El Yucateco Black Label Reserve Hot Sauce
May is National Strawberry Month! I have many a strawberry-filled recipe on my blog (like this recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes) but most are desserts. Strawberries are considerably more versatile than I give them credit for and can be used in all sorts of recipes from breakfast, to drinks, to dinner. Driscoll’s recently contacted me to highlight National Strawberry Month so I decided to make a more savory recipe this time around!
The sweet strawberries in this recipe help offset the spiciness of the jalapeno and work really well with the creaminess of the avocado to bring a super balanced salsa.
This recipe for Tortilla Crusted Fish with Strawberry Avocado Salsa is adapted from two separate recipes; a blue tortilla crusted fish recipe from Food Network, and a Strawberry Avocado Salsa recipe from Cooking Light.
Ingredients:
Fish:
the juice of 1 lime
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper
12 ounces corn tortilla chips
4 mahi mahi fillets (about 6 ounces each), or any other white fish you prefer
One of the best parts of Steak is how simple it is to prepare. You really don’t have to do much to a steak to make a delicious meal. But sometimes you want something a little different. This recipe for Flank Steak with Tomato Bruschetta is still super simple but ups the flavor of the steak with smoked paprika and a creole seasoning. The original recipe uses a pre-made creole seasoning, but I just substituted in some spices I had on hand to make my own version.
This quick Bruschetta is really tasty on bread, but be sure to use any leftover to put on top of the steak as well!
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
a pinch of salt and pepper
1 (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed
Cooking spray
2 cups cherry tomatoes
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 small shallot, chopped
8 (1-ounce) slices whole-wheat French bread baguette
One of my earlier posts on this blog was a chicken piccata recipe. I used to make chicken piccata probably once a week, because it was one of the only recipes I knew! But since I’ve committed to learning how to cook, I haven’t made it in probably 2 years (there are so many recipes I have to try, I rarely go back to my previous go-to recipes). So I decided to revisit the recipe with a few tweaks.
I’ve seen commercials for Land O Lakes Sauté Express products and just loved the idea. The Sauté Starters, made with butter, olive oil, and spices, are an easy way to cook up chicken or fish effortlessly. The Sauté Express Sauté Starters are specifically made for cooking on a stovetop and are portioned out in one ounce servings, enough to cook two chicken breast or fish fillets. So I thought the Garlic & Herb Sauté Express would be great in chicken piccata.
Because I use the same pan to both make the sauce and cook my chicken, my piccata is browner than most you’ll find in restaurants. So I apologize for the presentation. But trust me, the flavor makes it worth it!
Ingredients (serves 4):
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
1 lb chicken tenderloins (about 8 pieces)
2 squares Garlic & Herb Sauté Express, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/3 cup white wine (whatever you have around the house)
It is too darn hot to be using the stove/oven, don’t you think? The grill is a great option for hot days, but we have recently been getting the most inconvenient thunderstorms right around dinnertime. I wanted to find some recipes that are perfect for summer but can also be made in a slow cooker so your whole kitchen doesn’t heat up. This one for Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Sandwiches is really easy to make: you brown the chicken, line the slow cooker with onions and garlic, pour the sauce over the chicken, and let it cook for 3 hours. You’re left with a really tender pull-apart chicken perfect for summer evenings!
This may come as a surprise, especially coming from a food blogger, who is about to share a recipe for Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, but I had my first piece of bacon just a few years back. I’ve never been a big fan of pork products to begin with (I was an awfully picky child… sorry mom!) and swore it off all together after a trip to Switzerland where I couldn’t find anything that didn’t have pork/bacon/ham/sausage in it. But a few years ago, I finally started going back to eating pork, starting with bacon. And I’ve never looked back. Although I’m still not fully into pork yet, I have finally incorporated it slightly into my repertoire.
Hatfield Quality Meats contacted me last week to see if I’d be interested in trying some of their products. At first I was a bit wary but this was my chance to finally work with pork products and perhaps even like it! So I thought I’d jump in head first with a bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin!
Hatfield’s pork products include bacon, tenderloin (marinated and regular), ham steaks and sausage and can be found at your local grocery store. I was sent a boneless pork loin filet, which has no MSG added and is gluten free, as well as thick cut hardwood smoked bacon, both of which I used in this recipe.
